Dylan Pedler jailed for sexually abusing 16-year-old girl after picking her up from the side of the road

A man has learnt his fate for picking up a child from the side of the road, getting her drunk and “forcibly” having sex with her, despite her telling him her age.

A vile predator who plied a child with alcohol and sexually assaulted her has been jailed for more than four years.

Dylan Wayne Pedler, 30, forever changed the lives of the victim and her family after he committed the degrading abuse.

During sentencing, the court heard Pedler and another man picked up the 16-year-old victim and her 15-year-old friend from the side of the road in July 2021.

They picked up a carton of Smirnoff Double Blacks and went back to a house.

The court heard drugs were given to the girls but there was no evidence Pedler was present when this happened.

Dylan Pedler was found guilty after trial of unlawful sexual intercourse with a child. Photo: Facebook

Dylan Pedler was jailed for over four years for his predatory offending. Photo: Facebook

Mr Pedler then followed the “disorientated” victim into a shed behind the house.

“You tried to pull her pants down, she was saying no,” Judge Michael Durrant said.

“You said ‘just let me f*** you’.

“You forcibly turned her around, bent her over a white object … you penetrated her vagina.”

Pedler, of Whyalla, was found guilty by a jury in the Port Augusta District Court in December of three charges of unlawful sexual intercourse.

Victim impact statements were read to the District Court earlier this month.

The victim said she has a constant sick feeling now knowing “monsters” like Pedler are real.

“I will never forget the feeling of what you were doing to me and the feeling of being powerless – the desperate feeling of wanting to wake up and it had been a horrible nightmare,” she said.

The victim said Pedler took away her innocence and destroyed her sense of self worth, confidence and ability to trust anyone.”

“I carry the pain of that night with me every second of every day,” she said.

“You forced me to grow up overnight and took away the chance I had to live a happy, fun and exciting teenage life and that is something I’ll never get back.”

The victim’s mother said the crime had changed her family’s life forever.

“There have been times in my life where I have felt pain but nothing compares to the pain I feel knowing I have not protected my daughter,” she said.

“That little girl is gone and I grieve her everyday.”

The court heard Pedler was a self employed concreter and had two children with his partner.

Judge Durrant said Pedler’s offending was predatory and children needed to be protected from older men.

“You have much work to do to control yourself and live a lawful life,” he said.

Judge Durrant sentenced Pedler to four years and seven months jail, with a non-parole period of two years and nine months.

The sentence was backdated to December 2.